The Star Festival and Marlin

If you spend the Star Festival with Marlin, you essentially spend it with his family at Vesta's farmhouse. Every one is warm and friendly but there is very little romance to the occasion. Vesta will remark, however, that Marlin seldom invites any one to the house, making you feel rather special.

Curiously enough, only one place has been set at the table. Farmers have a reputation for their great hospitality, for large tables groaning with food. The single piece of cake displayed on the tiny table is rather surprising in the circumstances.

Skye's Fifth Heart Event: A Moral Dilemma

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In Skye's Fifth and final Heart Event, you are called upon to declare and manifest your loyalty. Is it to your village and your neighbours or is it to Skye? I have to confess that, although my choice never was in doubt, I did experience a little qualm when I pretended not to know Skye's whereabouts. The village unites against him in force. If one didn't have sympathy (and love) for him at this point, one surely would feel a little sorry for him when Ruby, Rock, Nami, Marlin, Vesta and Celia march down the path in the manner of the Assyrian who 'came down like a wolf on the fold'. In a military wedge formation, they really did present an intimidating appearance.

A moment earlier, I had promised Skye that I would pretend I hadn't seen him... A moment earlier, he had gazed soulfully into my eyes before he disappeared south towards the beach. And yet... and yet, I am part of this village now. I owe my neighbours and friends some loyalty as well. In fact, the posse included two bachelors who are at red heart level now, making it doubly a betrayal to choose Skye.

Nonetheless, even if I weren't in love with Skye, I always would tend to side with the 'underdog' in any confrontation. To witness my lovely Skye being HOUNDED by the villagers of Forget-Me-Not Valley was a very distressing experience indeed.

I do believe in happy endings, though, and I have a feeling that Skye will be accepted by my neighbours and friends quite readily if I marry him. The people of Forget-Me-Not Valley are generous and forgiving. He never harmed any one really. His theft of a bottle of wine and a few vegetables and a possible artifact or two surely can be overlooked fairly easily, particularly if he 'retires' from his old career...

N.B. There is no error here. Skye's Yellow Heart Event is his FIFTH Heart event. He alone of the eligible bachelors has five rather than the four traditional Heart Events. The fourth is a Green Heart Event and the Fifth is his Yellow Heart Event. Other bachelors do not have a Green Heart Event, although there is a Green Rival Heart Event for each that will advance your Rival's courtship of the bachelor.

Marlin's Marriage Proposal Event

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Here are photographs of the Marriage Proposal Event with Marlin. The expression on his face is most peculiar. Marlin can be rather good-looking in his own way, but the expression he exhibited when I proposed was almost too much to bear.

Marlin has one grave flaw: his delicate health has made him hyper-sensitive, and he reacts with a rather unattractive machismo at times. When you propose to him, he will accept but then tell you that proposals of marriage should be initiated by the man! He then proceeds to propose to YOU.

When he tells Vesta and Celia of the engagement, Vesta threatens him with GBH should he misbehave. She takes the jest quite far in fact... curious when dealing with a man whom she won't allow out in the rain.

My Faith in Harvest Moon is vindicated!

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When I missed Part II of Skye's 3rd Heart Event because Carter failed to enter his tent BEFORE midnight on Sunday night, I spoke to Natsume to try to find out if it would ruin my chances of marrying Skye. I was told rather depressingly that I had to experience both parts of the event in order to be able to move forward with the romance. According to Natsume, my chance of marrying Skye had gone with my failure to experience Part II of one of his heart events.

At first I was filled with despair, even beginning a new game in the 2nd slot to try to make a new life that would allow me to court Skye. Then, however, my analytical mind set to work to dissect the entire process of Heart Events... and I began to believe that I still had a chance with Skye in my first game.

I am kind of an expert in Courtship matters in Harvest Moon, but how could I be more of an expert than the people at Natsume? Well, the fact of the matter is that Harvest Moon games are not linear. Many factors determine the progress of the game. Natsume constantly is at work on new games, not having as much time to explore existing games as players do. In my Harvest Moon games, I try to court ALL the eligible spouses, then marry each and every one of them, documenting the results of every response in any event as well. In other words, I am insanely devoted to Harvest Moon...

I began to think about Harvest Events in HM Cute DS in order to try to resurrect my own hope that I could continue to court Skye.

In every Heart Event with ANY bachelor, there is a 'positive' and a 'negative' ending, sometimes even two of each in Cute. If you reject the bachelor's advances or invitation at the very start of the Heart Event, often the event will terminate abruptly and you will not experience the 'main' portion of the event...

This does not prevent you from experiencing the next Heart Event, however. What it does is lower the bachelor's heart level, setting you back a little in your courtship.

Why would Skye's events be any different?

I continued therefore to meet Skye nightly when he entered the Valley, raising his AP by +300 points slowly but surely. I grieved for the event that I had missed, but hoped that it would not prevent me from experiencing the next one.

Tonight, I discovered that my faith had not been misplaced. At 6.00 a.m., I crossed the bridge towards Vesta's farm and triggered Part I of Skye's 4th Heart Event.

At 10.00 p.m., determined not to take any chances of missing Part II, I entered Vesta's Farmhouse.

Vesta, Celia and Marlin stood together at the foot of the stairs.

Vesta: We'll get that lily-livered thief tonight!

We split up into two groups. Vesta and I accost Skye in the midst of the ripened aubergines. He uses his Chick-Beam on us, then walks north where he is accosted by the second group consisting of Celia and Marlin. He uses the Chick-Beam on them as well. Only Celia is affected but Marlin does nothing and Skye makes a leisurely exit after telling Marlin that there is no mystique in being caught by a man.

It was amusing to witness Marlin's obvious hostility towards the charming thief. I had to include a photograph of the moment when Marlin cried: 'Back off, pretty boy!'
If you recall Skye's 1st Heart Event, you will note that he used the same line that he used there on Lumina on Vesta in THIS event. To tell Vesta that anger ruins her beauty is absolutely hilarious. It appears that older women such as Vesta are not as easily seduced by Skye's flirtatious manner! She remains obdurately fixed upon the threat to her precious vegetables.

You may have noted that, on the 1st day of ANY growing season, Vesta's crops are fully ripe and ready for harvest. Why does the Harvest Goddess favour her so???

Having waited so long and worked so hard to experience this event, I found I was a little disappointed in the lack of romance. Unlike other events, he did not say anything personal to me!

Well, there is one more event... and the Yellow Heart Event usually is the most romantic in any courtship. At least I am grateful that I still have a chance to court the elusive thief!

Girl Talk in Harvest Moon Cute

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One very charming aspect of Harvest Moon games in general is the friendship that develops or exists between girls who actually may be rivals for the affection of the eligible bachelors. Even if you are courting Griffin, Muffy always will be delighted to see you at the Blue Bar.

In both the original 'boy' version and the new 'girl' Cute, old friendships exist between Valley girls and Mineral Town girls and there are a number of events that illustrate this. Celia and Karen are close friends and Karen in fact spends every Tuesday morning in Celia's room. As any one who knows Karen well might expect, she likes to spend her evenings in the local bar and on Tuesdays, can be found at the Blue Bar. Mary and Lumina are rather unlikely close friends, and Mary spends Monday mornings in Lumina's room and Monday afternoons in the parlour listening to Lumina play the piano. On a rainy Wednesday afternoon, Elli can be found at the piano, although she is not as close to Lumina as Mary.

The events that occur require 100 FP level for the girls involved.

If you walk into Celia's bedroom on Tuesday morning, you will experience an event between Karen and Celia. The two girls assert the general 'coolness' of their home villages, and there is an odd moment when Karen suggests that there is 'too much style' in the Valley! Karen ultimately is willing to admit that Forget-Me-Not Valley is equal to Mineral Town in this respect and the event ends with an invitation to visit Mineral Town from Karen to Celia.

If you go to the Blue Bar on Tuesday night, you will experience an event between Muffy and Karen. Like many events in Harvest Moon, this one gives a sly hint to players who have not discovered the possibilities at the Excavation Site.

Muffy admires Karen's new earrings and Karen confesses that she found them at the Excavation Site but that she became quite filthy in the process, as she had to 'dig' for them... Muffy does not like the idea of getting her hands dirty and at the end of the event, she will ask you if you might be willing to help her obtain a pair...

There are other events later in the original 'boy' game that involve Mary's talents as a writer and Kate's admiration both of Lumina and Mary. I have yet to discover if they have been included in Cute.

Incidentally, for new players of ANY Harvest Moon game, the exit from the village always is nothing more than a 'tease' where your character is concerned. Whether it is Mineral Town, Forget-Me-Not Valley or the village in Magical Melody, your character NEVER will be able to leave, no matter how great his/her success and how high his/her friendship levels with every one. Other villagers may come and go freely but your character is not allowed to emulate them in this respect.